cantaloupe jam

Cantaloupe Jam

Cantaloupe (very ripe)
3/4 pound granulated sugar per pound of cantaloupe
1/2 teaspoon each ginger, mace and cinnamon
    per each pound of cantaloupe

Peel cantaloupe and remove the seeds. Weigh and chop very fine. Put sugar and cantaloupe into a kettle with a little water. Cook slowly until fruit can be mashed. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until thick.

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it or offer your own version in return. — Salman Rushdie

Technorati Tags: preserving recipes, canning

Briarwood Button Cookies Mix in a Jar

Briarwood Button Cookies Mix in a Jar

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup M&Ms
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Rice Krispies to fill jar

Layer in the order given in a 1-quart wide-mouth jar, using a canning funnel, packing each layer very firmly.

Attach these instructions to the jar:

Briarwood Button Cookies

Place the contents of the jar into a bowl. Add 1 egg and 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine. Mix well with a spoon. Drop by spoonsful onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.

I don think most people associate me with leeches or how to get them off. But I know how to get them off. Im an expert at it. — Oliver L. North

Also check out

• Food in Jars » Homemade Pancake Mix

Technorati Tags: jar gifts recipes

pumpkin butter

Pumpkin Butter

3 1/2 cups fresh ground pumpkin or canned pumpkin pur?e
2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 lemon, juice and grated rind
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice

If using fresh pumpkin, mix with sugar, lemon, ginger, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 8 to 10 hours

Transfer to a heavy saucepan, add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat, stirring often, for 40 to 60 minutes, to desired consistency. (With canned pumpkin, mix ingredients in heavy saucepan; bring to a boil and simmer on low about 20 minutes, to thicken.)

Pour mixture into hot, sterile, 6-ounce canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal with sterile, 2-part lids and rings, as manufacturer directs, processing 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Cool; adjust seals.

Makes five 6-ounce jars.

The only questions worth asking today are whether humans are going to have any emotions tomorrow, and what the quality of life will be if the answer is no. — Lester Bangs

Technorati Tags: preserving recipes, canning

Okie Grannie Wild Plum Jelly

I have a hundred times wished that one could resign life as an officer resigns a commission. — Robert Burns

Also check out

• Time in a Bottle « Gallimaufree

Technorati Tags: Jellies and Jams

fruity cocoa mix

Fruity Cocoa Mix

3 cups instant hot cocoa mix
1 envelope unsweetened Kool-Aid mix, any fruity flavor

Combine all ingredients in a a sealable container. Shake well until blended. Store in an airtight container.

Attach the following instructions on a gift tag:

Fruity Cocoa

Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Fruity Cocoa Mix into a coffee mug of hot water.

Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down. — Charles F. Kettering

Also check out

Technorati Tags: mixes in a jar recipes, beverages

triple hit hot chocolate mix in a jar

Triple Hit Hot Chocolate Mix in a Jar

1 1/4 cups instant nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup instant powdered chocolate drink mix
1/4 cup mint chocolate chips
2 tablespoons powdered Swiss chocolate coffee creamer

Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and combine. Place mixture into a pint jar.

Include the following instructions on a gift tag if giving as a gift:

Triple Hit Hot Chocolate

Measure 1/3 cup Triple Hit Hot Chocolate Mix and place into drinking mug. Pour 1 cup of hot water over chocolate mixture. Stir until well-blended and mint chocolate chips are melted.

Makes about 5 cups prepared drink.

Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down. — Charles F. Kettering

Also check out

• {my simple} Christmas in July… « Simply Altered

Technorati Tags: jar gifts , mixes in a jar recipes

grape leaves

Grape Leaves

120 whole grape leaves
Water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 quart water

Pick grape leaves when young, tender and light green. Cut off stems and wash in cold water. Bring water to a boil in a 6-quart or larger pot. Drop in 10 to 12 grape leaves at a time for 30 seconds. Lift grapes leaves out and plunge into cold water. Pat leaves dry with paper towels. Stack leaves in piles of 6 and roll up loosely from the long side. Tie each roll with string. Continue this process until all leaves are cooked and rolled up. Pack rolls of leaves in clean, hot pint or quart jars. About 6 rolls will fit into a quart jar.

Bring salt and 1 quart water to a boil; boil 5 minutes. Pack rolls of leaves vertically into 3 quart jars, bending them gently to fit below the shoulders of the jars. Cover with hot brine, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal. Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes.

Yields 3 quarts.

To use, untie the rolls and rinse in cold water. Use in any recipe calling for grape leaves. Refrigerate after opening.

Sometimes I think Id be better off dead. No, wait. Not me, you. — Jack Handey Deep Thoughts

Technorati Tags: preserving recipes, canning

sweet cherry jam

Sweet Cherry Jam

3 pounds fully ripe dark sweet cherries
1 (1 3/4 ounce) package regular powdered fruit pectin
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cups granulated sugar

Sort, wash, stem, pit, and chop cherries. Measure 4 cups chopped cherries.

In a 6- or 8-quart Dutch oven or kettle combine cherries, pectin, lemon peel and lemon juice. Bring to boiling over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon.

Immediately ladle jam into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process jars in  boiling-water canner* for 5 minutes (start timing when water begins to boil). Remove jars from canner; cool on racks.

Makes 6 half-pints.

The evil implanted in man by nature spreads so imperceptibly, when the habit of wrong-doing is unchecked, that he himself can set no limit to his shamelessness. — Cicero

Also check out

Technorati Tags: preserving recipes, canning

rhubarb ginger jam

Rhubarb Ginger Jam

2 pounds rhubarb (about 8 cups)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh ginger, minced or grated
1/2 vanilla bean, split with seeds scraped into pan

Place all ingredients into a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally for 20 to 25 minutes on medium heat until the mixture reaches 218 to 220 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Skim any foam from the top and remove vanilla bean. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Jam, at this point, can be stored in sterilized canning jars in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or water-bath canned per the instructions, no less than 10 minutes, with the canning jars.

Makes 6 cups.

The best an American can look forward to is the lonely pleasure of one who stands at long last on a chilly and inhospitable mountaintop where few have been before, where few can follow and where few will consent to believe he has been. — George Frost Kennan

Also check out

Technorati Tags: preserving recipes, canning

Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

Porque el miedo, sin ser Dios, suele hacer algo de nada. (Fear can, though it is not God, create something from nothing.) — Caspar de Aguilar

Technorati Tags: Jellies and Jams